"I'm sorry…what did you say to me?" It was a week after he'd returned from his vacation at the Makino resort and Domyouji Tsukasa winced as he heard his mother's response to his rather tentative question.

"It's not a horrible idea, we could keep it going-" Tsukasa proposed faltering as he saw his mother shudder like he'd asked her to drink cow's piss because it was good for her health.

"I don't pay you to think Tsukasa, I don't even expect you to do much because you've proven yourself even more useless than your sister." She laughed. "So please don't make a fool of yourself and try to think."

The color rising up her son's neck was a steam engine read and Kaede Domyouji waited patiently. She was doing this less because she actually thought his idea to keep Makino Resorts and Spas going was a bad idea and more because she needed him to learn his place again. He'd been getting closer and closer to the case, considering he'd spent almost a month on it now- far longer than she'd expected.

The only complication in their formula was the opposing side and so to crush Makino Tsukushi, it seemed Kaede would have to crush Tsukasa a little first. She would act as his muse to bring out the vengeful, horrible man that she knew her beloved son could be and should be when required.

"You know I'm not fucking wrong-"

"No you're not, and if you were bringing this up under any other context I would have even bothered to spare thought to the idea costly as it may be. But you are so pathetic right now because we both know this isn't your idea." She laughed and watched him bare his teeth unconsciously, like some salivating pitbull that didn't know what to do with all of his pent up frustration. "Come on, just get this over with Tsukasa."

"Why are you such a bitch?" She raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

"Maybe I wouldn't be…if you weren't such a disappointment." Inside him, there was still a little angry boy who loved to be coddled and at least from her Tsukasa had never received anything because Kaede hadn't been that sort of mother and didn't think she ever could be. Even if she tried now it would be fake, and far too late.

She'd expected him to blow up, cry, throw something at her face but it looked like the therapy he'd gone to after he'd literally combusted in front of the woman he'd loved had served him well. He laughed at her and shook his head walking away. "You never change…and one day you're going to mess up. One day I'll make sure you're not around anymore."

"And live happily ever after? If only life was as simple as your little fairytale Tsukasa…" Her phone rang and her secretary called out for the end of the meeting so Tsukasa got up before she had a chance to ask him to walk out.

"I'll be happy to put an end to this if you'd like but you're making the wrong choice…like you always do."

"Yes and all these wrong choices have bought your luxury condos, cars and that American express Black card that I've never heard of you paying for-" She grinned brightly and waved him away. "Next time you come if you're not done with that girl yet I'll make sure to be even more demanding!"

"I'll do what you asked me to don't worry. I'm meeting her tonight and I'll kill it. She'll come out of there signing what I want her to but it'll be fair. And I'll make the decision on what's fair because they aren't like the others mother – they can come back at us harder than we would hit them." He didn't mean that really. Tsukushi wasn't like the others but that was because despite every better thought in his mind he wanted to give her what she wanted not because she rightfully could and should ruin him. He'd never been afraid of that challenge. In fact the prospect of it had always excited him. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't have to hurt you Tsukasa…I have other tools at my disposal…slowly drown out the failing Nishikado corporation and make them the next target of my acquisition team- or lets see Hanazawa-san's company might be a bit expensive so I'll leave him alone- BUT I did hear something ridiculous about the Mimasaka tribe running a brothel outside of the city that makes 10% of their annual family income! Can you believe that?! It would be a real pity if it was shut down- and then there's Okawahara-san…already as troubled as she is- I could help bring you two back together. Wouldn't you love that?"

The first lick of flame finally touched his eyes and Kaede smiled pridefully. He was always irrational when it came to that girl. He was ready. "Fuck off."

"Please, if you would-" He left the room and Kaede smirked. "Send in the next appointment Minori."

Later that night, Tsukushi rubbed her hair as she glanced at herself in the mirror of the Domyouji Corporate washroom at 9 at night.

Now looking back on their time together, she felt almost apologetic towards Tsukasa because she had really ruined his vacation. The rest of his time had been spent with Susumu, and the remainder with her father as she stayed out of his view. She even managed to avoid dropping him off at the airport. A feat she considered very successful considering her mother had spent the better part of 6 hours nagging her about dropping the young Domyouji heir off.

She leaned over the sink and ran just one swipe of the red lipstick on her lips and then looked up, judged herself and immediately reached for a tissue and wet it. Once she was done wiping her lips down her entire mouth was left looking red and a little bruised and swollen. "Fuck." She muttered rubbing her head.

What the hell was she doing?

Trying to be prepared if he makes a move duh! Her eyes flew open nervously as she gulped and leaned against the cool marble wall.

She was already 20 minutes late for meeting him. Knowing Domyouji Tsukasa he was probably pacing the room ready to bite her head off after their conversation on the beach - not ready bite her lips off.

Still he could…you know…and you did wear your nice silk underwear it would be such a shame to take it off just to put it in the laundry basket…

Oh god her brain, couldn't it just shut up ? It was too foolish to be thinking these things behind enemy lines. Especially when she'd clearly told both him and herself that she hated him! Hated him! Remember hate! Those feelings that aren't supposed to be making her feel like she was melted butter drowning in a frying pan.

She glanced around herself in the empty room almost afraid someone was reading her thoughts. The truth was she was attracted to him, she was really really attracted to him.

She had to get out of this washroom, the more she spent time with her own thoughts the worse they got. So she put her best brave face on and pretended she wasn't tempted to duck behind the door and stand him up.

When she walked into the room she saw him sitting at the boardroom table, he didn't bother looking up at her either. "Sorry I'm late," She verbalized quickly. He didn't say a word back but he did glance up at her and she saw a tinge of an emotion she couldn't quite place. Either ways, something in her gut told her, it didn't look good for her.

She felt her eyelids flutter nervously as she took the seat across him, aware now more than ever of the intensity of the gaze on her figure. "Were you able to talk with your mother?"

"Yes." He replied tersely.

Regardless, whatever she'd thought of when she'd ran that red lipstick across her mouth was not going to be a reality today. She might as well play hard ass. She was acting like a fucking wimp. Man up, Tsukushi! You're not here to mess around with the Domyouji heir.

"And?" She raised an eyebrow leaning back in her chair. "If you give me that concession, and the adjustment on the employee severance pay-"

"You're joking." He looked up at her, his face quite clearly conveying how pissed off he was that she'd asked for that. "You never mentioned an increase to the severance package."

"Well of course, I did…on the beach remember? This was right before you hit me on the head and paraded around like it was the first thing you ever won in your life? Is that an issue for you?"

"You have no fucking clue do you? You've made me like your agent or something. I'm not even-" He paused rubbing his eyes. Then he looked at her, really looked at her, gulped. "For two seconds, I'm going to cut the bullshit with you now. This is the last fucking leg of our discussion. I don't want to see you again after this, today you are signing these papers. This is it. We are fucking done. You think you hate me? Well guess what. The feeling is entirely mutual you infuriate me, you make me very very angry and that isn't good for me." He'd chosen his words so carefully it sounded like they came out of a politically correct handbook. "I have worked very hard to get where I am today and you- you're undermining me. I'm letting you! I'm letting you do this which is even worse! It's all because you act like this! Confident, and made of steel! You act like- you own the world and something about that makes me respect you because of your sheer determination! But guess what? I don't let people piss me off Tsukushi!" She was all too aware of the way her heart soared in her chest. "And that-"

Before she knew what had happened she'd said the unthinkable. "I'm sorry." She'd meant it she really meant it, that was the worst part. She had wanted to say sorry for the beach and she wanted to say sorry now that she'd upset him. "I'm sorry you think I'm doing this to you in a personal lens but the truth is from a professional perspective, I'm just trying to get these people what they deserve-"

"What they deserve?" He hollered, laughing. "I say no. They deserve nothing. The weak get devoured, it's the law of the jungle and you're weak, Tsukushi. I should have swallowed you and your whole family up now and left you for your own struggles. Instead I'm here bargaining with a competitor who already lost the match long before the match even started and I'm letting her boss me around like I'm a piece of garbage."

He needed to stop saying her first name like he was. It was muddling her mind. Something about it sounded too pleasant from his mouth. "You don't though- you're a-" She felt her tongue grow heavy in her mouth as the words came out after careful consideration. "You're not like her. You're not like your mother. You're a good person. You don't really believe that."

In a fairy tale, this was the part where his heart of gold would burst through his chest and illuminate the room.

In reality, this was the part where the source of her doubts became words that he'd heard.

He scoffed. "You're joking."

"I'm not." She wasn't…but she was feeling incredibly embarrassed because he stood up came up from his chair and pulled her up from her chair rather roughly. Part of her stomach started to twist itself in anticipation simply because of the sensation of his hands on her. "I- I really think you're not all that bad. You're her son…but you can't be that bad."

His fingers were trailing across her arm and she felt her eyes drift to his hands. She gulped and then her gaze ran up his arm until she was looking right at his mouth, her face moving the slightest bit closer to his as he spoke. "I am." The tone of venom in his voice was unmistakeable, and it saved her from making the biggest mistake she would have by kissing him first here in his meeting room. She gulped back the tight feeling that was building in her entire body. "I'm not giving you what you want because it's the right thing to do, Tsukushi." His ulterior motive was left unsaid as he looked straight at her and she felt every part of her body thrum with energy as she stumbled backwards. The room they were in was large but not large enough to escape Tsukasa Domyouji. The more she walked back the further he walked towards her until all she hit was wall on her back and he was the only thing left in front of her. Her only road ahead.

"No- you don't mean-"

"I can show you what I mean very easily…I desperately want to." His voice dropped several octaves, her legs quivered just the slightest as she struggled to maintain her composure. "I'll give you whatever you want…whatever the fuck you want. Just say yes." She heard it in his voice, the way he hated what he was saying. "Do you want me to give you an extended severance package? I'll do that. More shares? Sure. Do you want me to bankrupt my inheritance here at Domyouji Zaibatsu? Why the fuck not? Tsukushi, I'd give you whatever you ask for now because I can't think with you around…and I need to get over this because you said it yourself. There's no reality, there's no future, but there is now…and I want you. Like a trophy, like a prize, like you're mine…for however long I want you."

She slapped him. She felt her eyes tear because he'd admitted what she thought but she felt like he'd also stabbed a knife straight to her heart. She'd grown up in hardship but her sweet disposition and hard-working attitude had made her a favourite to everyone who had ever gotten to know her.

This was not to be the case with Tsukasa. He may have wanted her, but he didn't think her worthy of the attention and it was almost worse imagining that he thought of her like a stain on his mind. It hurt more because she realized she definitely didn't think of him that way because the way he'd behaved with her when she'd first met him had unfortunately had the circumstance of having her look on him positively.

Fake or not, she'd fallen just a little for the rich bastard in front of her.

And it turned out that the rich bastard just wanted her for a cheap lay in expensive sheets.

She walked out of the room, feeling her chest struggle to breathe as she shut the door behind her. She felt like running but she could barely move as her hand reached her chest.

She should have run though because in seconds Tsukasa whipped the door open, his hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her back roughly to his frame, dragging her towards his personal office.

She practically cried as she tried to hit him, but they met so late that most of the building was absent save for a security guard far enough that he wouldn't hear her struggle. "You don't get to hit me and leave like that."

"And what the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Anything but that." He hollered back as he pulled her into his office, the one with the couch they'd laughed on. She'd sat there admiring his profile like a fool, unaware of how before she'd known the man had crawled his way under her skin and into her heart.

He shut the door locking it behind her as she moved to the corner of the office. She needn't have bothered. "Take off your clothes." He growled approaching her with steps that thundered in this tiny excuse of a room.

Whatever she'd been expecting from, she wasn't sure it was this. "Excuse me? Who do you think you are?"

"I am a man of few words and a man of even less patience. I said take off your clothes Miss Makino and you have yourself what you came for." Her last name again. He was trying his best to distance himself from her now. Now she understood why she was so confused around him.

Right now she was seeing Domyouji Tsukasa the lawyer…but there was glimpses of another man there. The real man who played around, made stupid jokes and the one who- at least she thought- cared for her.

"I refuse to stand here and be treated like some two-bit prostitute-"

A shiver ran through her body as she heard his laugh, sadistic and filled with a demonic sentiment as his entire body revelled in the motion. He glimmered in the barely lit office.

Then he took off his shirt and Tsukushi balked quite openly as he stalked towards her and she had to close her eyes because this was just what she'd imagined when she was in the washroom but this scenario wasn't what she'd wanted- not at all.

It was different to sleep with someone with who you had friendly banter, it was an entirely different thing to sleep with someone who thought you were a piece of shit on his shoe. For a man like Tsukasa Domyouji, that would give him power over her, he would view sex as a way of dominating her and that wasn't an idea she was entirely comfortable with.

"Prostitutes ask for less than what you have and have far more charm. I'd rather characterize you as a thorn in my side, a bad bone in my rib I wish to remove, like a rotten Eve." She should have slapped him harder, he was spouting nonsense. "For the past month, I've listened to you chatter on and on about the rights of the company you're working for and how I'm the son of the devil for even trying to do what makes the most logical sense- so let me show you Miss Makino." She felt her insides squirm uncomfortably, like she wanted to ask him to call her by her first name again, to be that Tsukasa again. "I am the son of the devil, and I am a horrible person and I have no issues with pushing you past what you're comfortable with. And I know while this is what you want, you are entirely too uncomfortable with this to make the move yourself so let me do it for you." His hand landed beside her face, not quite touching her skin. "And do you know why I'm so confident?"

She needed to stay calm, look uncaring, but when she felt his thumb run tenderly by her ear, pushing her hair back in a surprisingly affectionate gesture she couldn't stop the shudder that ran through her frame. "Why?" Why did he think he could toy with her like this? Why did he think that this was allowed? In what universe, was he allowed to treat her like this?

Tsukasa could have laughed but he settled for a smirk. He'd defeated her, the way her breath shuddered past her lips, the way he could practically feel the sweat off her pores and barely had to hold her heart close to him to feel how nervous she really was here beside him.

So he settled for a smirk, knowing that he, Tsukasa Domyouji, had succeeded. He always knew the prey's tell, and it was why he was such a great lawyer. Smart he may not be, but cunning, shrewd, and extremely good at the practice of satisfaction he was. It had got him everywhere and he wanted to use it today to get Tsukushi to where she needed to be. She couldn't be the girl who was his downfall, he couldn't fail to close a deal because of her and he couldn't let her be the reason the old woman talked to him like that.

Even as he thought it, a foul taste entered his mouth as he watched Makino Tsukushi falter when his palm slid behind her neck, her face ever closer to his as his breath grew shallower. "I see the way you breathe when we're together past a decent hour," Who was he to talk? His own breath was the same, he echoed in his mind. "Your fingers just barely smell like sex every time you come past I shake your hands like you need something to take the edge off if you're going to be spending three or more hours with me…now," He needed to turn this switch off. He felt the fire inside of him from his anger at his mother flow through his fingers as he ran his hand down from her face down her arms, to her hips till he felt the edge of her dress and ducked his fingers through the edge.

"I know you don't kiss people you don't like but I do and I love the idea of me taking the place of –" The skin on her inner thighs was smooth, soft and intoxicating – his fingers crawled higher till they found silk and he saw her gasp feeling her in his palm, ripe for the plucking. "Now Miss Makino, will you take your clothes off or would you prefer that I did it for you?"

She didn't get to answer because his lips were on hers, his hands out of her underwear and on her hips pulling her to his frame. He was screaming into her, the vibrato of his mouth waking ever cell inside of her. She felt her hands wrap over his skin, his tongue run past her bottom lip, tugging, pulling, and growling as he lifted her up from the ground.

Reflexively her legs wrapped around his hips and now that she was the slightest bit taller than him, his lips left her mouth and pushed their way down her neck. "This is wro-" Tsukasa decided to not give her the opportunity to finish her sentence because the words coming out of her mouth were blasphemy, especially when he felt her ankles flex so she held onto him tighter.

As much as Tsukushi wanted to run away, the other part of her wanted to stay so despite whatever was running through her mind she let herself be weak…but if she was going to do this she had to know. "Wait." She pushed him off her and looked at him seriously. "Why are you doing this?"

He looked mildly irritated with her considering the compromising situation they were in. "Isn't that a little too obvious a question? Didn't we just have the most long-winded discussion about how I want you?"

"No. It's not…because there's too many reasons this is not what we should be doing right now." She took a deep breath trying to calm the emotions running frantically in her mind, she was sad, angry, hurt but more than anything she did want this right now. But she had to know, she had to know what he really thought because she needed to know which Tsukasa was kissing her. "So why are you doing this? Is this some fucked up way to get the upper hand on me? Just be honest."

He scoffed and pulled her away from the ground. Then he set her down on his desk and she felt mildly uncomfortable with how intimate they could become at any given point. Part of her detested that she brought the topic up, but another part of her knew she couldn't go through with this if she didn't know clearly. "If we slept together would that change how you act towards me?"

If the sex was great, yeah why not? Maybe? She could have said her thoughts openly but she didn't. "If it's concerning the acquisition…no. It won't, but the fact you said that shit out there really pissed me off…and then you barged in here and – it's all totally a shit storm- and I was crying and now I'm not and you're kissing me-"

"Shit fuck, shit fuck." He shot back her blankly and she almost burst out laughing at his monotonous tone.

"What?" She managed to mumble out behind muffled giggles.

"I'm angry at you because I want you."

"And you want me because-"

"Look lets not pretend to be something we're not. You and I we're from different places right?" She nodded. "We don't make sense together as a couple right?" He was right there too, she had trouble envisioning any sort of future with him. "You want me." Okay there she had to pause, yes she did want him, but she didn't want him to know that. She'd never been that open with a guy before. It just kind of – automatically happened. "Oh come on, just say it. Yes, you want me, or we're not going to sleep together."

"We're not?" She couldn't help it, she was a little disappointed now that things had gone this far and messed up whatever cordial demented relationship she'd developed with the Domyouji heir.

"I am a lawyer, I'm a man and I'm acquiring your company. I'm not stupid. I need consent. I'm not touching you again until you say yes." He backed off her and immediately her body craved the warmth his figure had provided her and she cursed her weak impulses.

"While you're at it get a waiver."

"Well it wasn't bribing, or asshole 101 but I knew you had to learn something in law school." He teased a smile unlike any this evening floating on his face. She marveled internally for just a second at how quickly this night had turned from the worst of her life to something- not quite so horrible. "A verbal contract will do."

She was silent. She could walk right out of here. He'd given her out…but the truth was she didn't really want it. Finally, Tsukushi could only bring herself to say one thing. "You say it too then."

"You're kidding." There was no amusement in his voice. "You need me to say it?! I'm definitely not going to charge you with rape. Don't worry."

"Yeah well…out there it didn't look like you wanted it. In here, you're acting like an animal. I'm getting some mixed signals man. One second, you think I'm worse than a prostitute the next you're begging to sleep with me." That little touch of anger came in him again and she saw him falter like she'd poured cold water on this whole event which she supposed she had in a way. Still, it didn't seem wrong for her to ask.

"An animal? Begging?" He choked out. "Okay you're really pushing it but fine, you want to hear it. You'll hear it. I want you. I want you because I can't stop thinking about you. Since that first fucking day you walked in here in that stupid red dress I kept thinking of what it would be like to take your dress off and so I want you sprawled across that table with your mouth in mine, your clothes on the ground and our-"

"That's more than enough!" She yelped the blush rising healthily on her cheeks as he smirked bashfully, proud when he saw Tsukushi literally fan herself. "Okay fine...I am okay with that. Sounds agreeable enough. This is me giving consent."

"Romantic." He responded sarcastically but he didn't need much more than that. He started walking back towards her. Getting Makino Tsukushi to admit she wanted him would be harder than he thought, but it wasn't like she'd rejected him, and he more than easily could ask her body to tell him what she wanted even if her brain wasn't willing to spell it out. "That's not very inspiring."

"I'm sorry I didn't minor in dirty talk." She blushed again when his hands found their way to the zip on the back of her dress, her fingers almost painfully nervous. How long had it been? Two- maybe three years? Since she'd taken the last man she'd slept with and put him in prison? Right that had been a real positive relationship. Oh and then there was that one night stand ages ago - but that hardly counted she'd been a drunken mess. She was entirely too sober for this. "Hey- listen."

"What?" He asked lazily as he played with her hair and found his fingers tousling the strands enjoyably. Makino Tsukushi's hair was decidedly the most interesting hair he'd ever found his fingers in. Normally in Shigeru's his hands would get stuck because the woman would never brush her hair, he'd always brush it for her. Jolin was entirely too sticky because of all the product she'd used, and other women had never made enough of a mark for him to marvel on their hair but Tsukushi's hair was like strands of water that floated on his skin. Light, soft and it smelled amazing – like a forest of pine.

Probably some cheap shampoo that he'd never heard of but like Tsukushi herself, he found it hallucinogenic. "This is just a one-time thing right?" His eyes scrolled over to hers and he gulped. The big brown innocence of them jarred him a little.

"Will you appreciate it if I say the truth?" His hands ran across her bare skin and she shivered in the air of the office. "Is it okay to say I don't know? It'd be easier if it was." It was the most honest thing he'd said all night and also the most confusing.

It didn't deter her heart though. "Yeah, it's okay." This time it was she that closed the gap between their frames in a surprisingly forward manner as Tsukasa felt Tsukushi pull him closer to her, her fingers running across the expanse of his back as he undid the clasp on her bra and tweaked one of her breasts till it formed a peak that made him smile into their kiss.

Tsukushi wasn't sure what the right answer was…but then again with a man that was so horribly wrong for her could there be a right or wrong answer to her question? All she knew right now was that he was right, they'd been playing around each other for weeks and it was time it came to end-

Maybe it would be good to just get it all out and over and done with.

Once the fantasy disappeared from her head- the man in front of her who was making her say his name and close her eyes could disappear too.